How to drop killer workshops
Our next Salmon Crew panel is confirmed, featuring Amber Smith, Erika Brenner, and Nicole Ingra. The topic? How to drop killer workshops.
Happening on February 26th. 4PM. Online. And yes, it'll be recorded.
If you want to join this event, find out more here.
Let's talk about workslops
Workshops get such a bad rep. They're seen as the source of crappy ideas and performative BS, and in some instances that's true. But it's also true that complex projects and businesses need spaces to debate and commit.
When run well, an effective workshop can help us weed out the under-discussed questions, and stress test what's worth doing. They're an ideal vessel to, as Carlos Fraenkel argues, use discussion to kill dogma:
Even if the beliefs we adopt in the course of our socialisation were indubitably true, we would still greatly benefit from defending them in a debate. Plato’s concern in the Meno: “beliefs not grounded on conviction are apt to give way before the slightest semblance of an argument.” And if a true belief is not fully, frequently and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead dogma, not a living truth.
So, with this panel, you will learn:
How workshops can become part of pitches
Why "no good idea came out of a workshop" is the wrong question
Why we need to be more MCs and therapists than strategists
The power of synthesising huge amounts of noise
Plus some stories of workshops gone wrong
I want to be relentless in speaking about people's lived experiences and practical advice. Speaking of which, here are a few freebie games for ya.
Improv everything everywhere all at once
Years ago, I read a book about how improv theatre can help businesses make more creative decisions. Here are five fun games you can try next:
The silent scene. Use body language, gestures and facial expressions to convey something about your brand. What it does or feels like. Where the category lacks. Bonus points if you can get the most senior person in the room to go first. Guaranteed ice breaker.
Backwards scene. Think of the outcome and work backwards from it. It may be that your story starts with the end customer benefit. Now you need to deconstruct how they got there, their troubles along the way. It's a neat way to think about customer experience.
Genre blender. Combine different story genres and perform a scene that incorporates elements from both. What might your brand look, feel and sound like in a world where solarpunk meets romantic comedy? Could you create a LLM to randomise genres?
Object transformation. Grab what you sell and, as the scene progresses, turn it into something else. What could a piece of food become when no one's hungry? What else might it be used for? Could this reveal new benefits, or weaknesses we can flip?
Constrained scene. You enact a scene based on pretty strict rules. For example, don't use a number of descriptors for your target audience. Limit the dialogue to questions only. Do the scene as if it were a musical. Or only say words starting with the letter J.
On February 26th, we will be discussing more workshop exercises, and when they're most useful. As you build your exercise library, you'll get more flexible at identifying or beginning to solve your clients' problems.
If you want to join this event, find out more here.
